Janet Mock

  • Writer, Director, TV Host and Producer

January 15, 2020  |   7:30 p.m.
Kane Hall Room 130

  • $5 admission fee, advance registration required
  • EVENT CANCELLED! Due to a last minute scheduling conflict, Janet Mock regretfully needs to cancel her January 15, 2020 appearance at the University of Washington. All ticketholders will automatically receive a refund. We are working to reschedule this event for a later date. We will notify all registered attendees directly via email once we have secured a new date. Please feel free to direct any questions to the Graduate School at lectures@uw.edu. We apologize for the inconvenience.

An Evening with Janet Mock

Janet Mock is a writer, director, TV host and producer whose memoir, Redefining Realness, debuted on the New York Times bestsellers list in 2014. Her second book, Surpassing Certainty, a memoir about her twenties, was released in 2017. She is an advocate for trans rights and the founder of #GirlsLikeUs, a social media project that empowers trans women.

Mock made television history as the first trans woman of color to write, direct and produce for a series with Ryan Murphy’s FX drama Pose, which has assembled the largest cast of trans actors in series regular roles ever for a scripted series. The critically acclaimed show was renewed for a second season, which has yet to begin production. Mock has a number of other TV projects in the works.

This past year TIME listed Mock as one of the “100 Most Influential People of 2018”. In 2017 Variety named her one of its “Power of Women”, she was featured on Ebony’s Power 100 list, and the PEN Center USA honored her with an Award of Honor during their 27th annual Literary Awards Festival.

Born in Hawaii, Mock began her career as an editor at People.com and has written for The New Yorker, The New York Times, Marie Claire, Interview and Allure. She has also worked as a correspondent for Entertainment Tonight and a host for MSNBC, where she helmed the groundbreaking series — “So POPular!”— interviewing Lena Dunham, Salma Hayek and Issa Rae. Mock also produced and conducted all interviews for the HBO documentary, The Trans List, and hosted and produced the Lenny podcast Never Before, which featured in-depth interviews with everyone from Representative Maxine Waters and Tina Knowles to Kris Jenner and Oscar winner Tarell Alvin McCraney.

TIME called Mock one of “12 new faces of black leadership” and one of “the most influential people on the Internet” while Fast Company named her one of 2015’s “most creative people in business.” She’s appeared on the covers Paper, Out and Riposte magazines, and she’s been interviewed on Late Night with Seth Meyers, Wendy Williams, Desus & Mero and  “Real Time with Bill Maher”. Mock was also featured in Jay-Z’s music video for “Family Feud,” which also features Beyoncé, Mindy Kaling and Rosario Dawson. The Ms. Foundation, Planned Parenthood, Feminist Press, GLSEN, Shorty Awards and the Sylvia Rivera Law Project have all honored Mock for her work.

Moderator: Valerie Curtis Newton

Sponsoring Departments

  • UW Graduate School
  • Department of Sociology